HS4 subsector intelligence

Soap and organic surface-active products
HS4 3401 trade overview

A focused view of this HS4 subsector: market scale, momentum, leading routes, countries, and the HS6 classifications inside it.

HS4 34011995-2024 coverageStable
The numbers at a glanceLatest reported year · 2024
01

Latest trade

$16.1BGlobal subsector value
02

Annual change

+3.4%Latest year on year
03

Exporters

192Active reporting countries
04

Importers

200Active reporting countries
05

HS6 products

4Classifications inside HS4

The subsector read

$16.1B in trade, with +2.7% annualized growth over three years.

Soap and organic surface-active products is recorded across 9,456 active corridors, with 192 exporters and 200 importers.

Annual trend

Subsector momentum over time

Reported global trade from 1995 to 2024. Read the methodology ↗

Annual subsector tradeReported global trade from 1995 to 2024.1995: $2.5B1996: $2.7B1997: $2.8B1998: $2.9B1999: $3.3B2000: $3.3B2001: $3.5B2002: $2.9B2003: $3.8B2004: $4.3B2005: $4.7B2006: $5.5B2007: $6.4B2008: $7.7B2009: $7.6B2010: $8.1B2011: $9.1B2012: $9.4B2013: $9.9B2014: $10.2B2015: $9.6B2016: $9.8B2017: $10.6B2018: $11.6B2019: $11.7B2020: $14.5B2021: $14.8B2022: $15.2B2023: $15.5B2024: $16.1B
Reported global trade by year.

Top trade corridors

Where the subsector moves

Leading exporter-to-importer relationships by latest reported value. See data sources ↗

Latest reported relationshipsTop 10 by trade value
RankExporterImporterTrade valueGrowthHS6DistanceFTA
1USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSACanadaCAN$573.4M+7.4%4556 kmYes
2CanadaCANUSA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$369.1M+2.1%4556 kmYes
3ChinaCHNUSA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$339.9M+8.1%411,883 kmNo
4MexicoMEXUSA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$294.2M+11.4%43,359 kmYes
5PolandPOLGermanyDEU$288.6M+8.7%4518 kmYes
6JapanJPNChinaCHN$268.4M-21.3%41,763 kmNo
7IndonesiaIDNIndiaIND$168.9M+6.4%44,999 kmYes
8NetherlandsNLDGermanyDEU$149.6M+14.8%4579 kmYes
9Republic of KoreaKORChinaCHN$145.3M-17.1%4867 kmYes
10Republic of KoreaKORUSA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$131.3M+49.8%411,077 kmYes

Market structure

Where supply and demand concentrate

Exporter and importer rankings show the two sides of the subsector separately. Check coverage ↗

Top exporters2024 ranking
RankCountryExportsPartnersHS6
1ChinaCHN$1.4B1964
2GermanyDEU$1.3B1674
3USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$1.2B1764
4FranceFRA$1.1B1774
5IndonesiaIDN$990.3M1784
6PolandPOL$879.5M1514
7ItalyITA$815.6M1574
8NetherlandsNLD$549.2M1624
9MalaysiaMYS$529.7M1724
10Republic of KoreaKOR$525.3M1584
Top importers2024 ranking
RankCountryImportsPartnersHS6
1USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$1.8B1164
2GermanyDEU$948.9M1144
3ChinaCHN$859.6M964
4CanadaCAN$739.8M1324
5United KingdomGBR$617.1M954
6FranceFRA$585.0M1294
7NetherlandsNLD$470.9M1084
8AustraliaAUS$338.7M814
9PolandPOL$331.6M984
10JapanJPN$279.5M634

HS6 product coverage

The products inside HS4 3401

Six-digit classifications make the subsector specific. Browse the product workspace ↗

4 classifications shownSoap and organic surface-active products
01
Soap and organic surface-active products: in the form of bars, cakes, moulded shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent, for toilet use (including medicated products)HS6 340111
02
Soap and organic surface-active products: in the form of bars, cakes, moulded shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent, not for toilet useHS6 340119
03
Soap: in forms n.e.c. in item no. 3401.11HS6 340120
04
Organic surface-active products and preparations for washing the skin, in the form of liquid or cream and put up for retail sale, whether or not containing soapHS6 340130

Definitions and coverage

Read the numbers with context

Reported observations and calculated indicators should be read with their coverage period. Responsible AI principles ↗

01

Reported values

Trade values describe reported merchandise trade for the HS4 classification, not company-level sales or shipment records.

02

Calculated indicators

Growth, concentration, volatility, and peak comparisons are calculated from reported observations.

03

Missing data

Unavailable observations remain unavailable. They are not filled, interpolated, or presented as forecasts.

Coverage: 1995-2024 · Data refreshed 2026-07-20 09:34:09

Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-27). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.